A Look at the Clock with Apple Watch

Big news came out this week from 9to5Mac regarding the Apple Watch, courtesy of the iOS 8.2 beta. News began with the finding of an Apple Watch companion app which 9to5Mac was able to get their hands and provide a complete breakdown of. The app simply name “Companion” outs several key features of the Apple Watch.

Customization: Being able to customize a device is a pillar of user interaction. The Apple Watch with its now famous circular grid style home screen will allow users to re-arrange icons to their liking. On a more personal note users can create a virtual monogram of 1-4 letters allowing them to imbed their initials or the like on the clock face.

Functions: Users will be able to enable a small circular red dot on the watch face as an indicator of a new notification. This can be likened to an LED light on some smartphones. For the more business minded amongst us, Apple Watch will allow you to receive a stock quote directly on the watch through a specific watch face.

Messaging: The Apple watch will not feature a keyboard function, however responding to messages is still completely possible without interacting with your iPhone. The Apple Watch has the ability to respond to text messaging via voice commands. A user will be able to send actual voice messages or transcribe your voice into text. If you are responding to an iMessage the ability to enable or disable read receipts is also available. Finally if you are not a fan of constant notifications on your Apple Watch you will be able to disable text message notifications on the watch. Furthermore you can set it to only receive notifications from certain contacts, allowing you to ignore overzealous friends or family members.

Health and Fitness: The Apple Watch companion app features the now standard gamut of health and fitness options. Heart rate tracking is built in, allowing you to measure your heart rate at a glance, this can be disabled as well. Calorie counting and pedometer functions are built in as well.

Passcode: Security on the Apple Watch will be similar to that of your iPhone. You can set a numerical passcode to unlock the watch independently from your iPhone. If you unlock your iPhone your Apple Watch will also unlock automatically allowing for easy device continuity.

Other: With the companion app it was outed that the Apple Watch will indeed have onboard storage. This storage will be accessible to users to use as they please. Lastly you will be able to access a sort of mini-settings app on the Watch showing you how much storage you have left, what you have stored and other basic information like serial number.

It is only a matter of time till Apple enthusiasts can get hands through an Apple Watch, and Plastic Mobile cannot wait!